


Positive Reinforcement

by ShadeDuelist



Series: Doctor Who Adventureverse: Three Boys, One Girl, and Their Babysitter [2]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, POV First Person, children's fears, fear of the dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-19 01:46:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7339516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeDuelist/pseuds/ShadeDuelist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(A side story to 'Always an adventure', give it a read!)</p><p>Little Matty finds himself facing a problem: with his babysitter Rose talking to his older brothers David and Christopher, she's too busy to notice he really really really has to go use the bathroom... and that dark, long hallway out there is much too frightening for him to brave alone!  And then, a new playmate (well, maybe a little more than just a new playmate...) boldly helps him out and pulls him along...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Positive Reinforcement

I wasn't afraid, no, I wasn't. I didn't fear the big scary dinosaurs on the television, I wasn't afraid of Chris and his big words and his big angry steps, I wasn't afraid of David and his teasing and his sciencey stuff. I wasn't afraid of Alex – _hehehehe –_ and I certainly, definitely, positively wasn't afraid of a big, long hallway that was _so quiet and empty_ _and where_ _the floorboards creak_ _before you even touch-_

Okay, yes, maybe I was a teensy-tiny bit afraid. But not much.

David and Chris were being stupid again, laughing about me an' Alex when we were exploring the planet of the crystal people. They just didn't like the fact that I had such fun with Alex, _a girl_ – they must think girls are _icky_. I don't think girls are icky, they're just silly at times. The girls in my class, with miss Clara, laugh a lot. Miss Clara does, too, but it's okay for her because sometimes we do funny stuff. The girls my age, they just giggle and giggle all the time, and I don't know why. I asked Davey once, because he knows so much, but he didn't know either; when I tried to ask Rose, she just smiled and said 'when you're four, everything's a little bit funny, I guess'. ...I didn't understand that answer, but I didn't want to disappoint Rose so I nodded.

So – scaaaaaary hallway, stupid Davey and Chris... it was a night like every other night, only our mama wasn't at home to watch us. Which is okay, because if mama's not home, she gets Rose to come over and watch us! I like Rose, she's very funny and super-smart and she's a grown-up, which means she doesn't need to climb a chair to get to the top shelf with the cookies. Still, Rose can be _scary_ if she wants to, all 'no you can't do this' and 'Matty you need to behave'. I _always_ behave, I'm not silly like Davey and Chris with their books full of boring _words_ with no colours and no pictures except of _boring things_ -

Wait, what was I going to tell you? Oh, yes, the scary hallway and all! ...It was a night like every other, only with Rose to mind us – and with Alex with us, too. It was the very same night I met her, but I could already tell how much fun we'd have. At first, she kept trying to go kissy-kissy with me, like Rose and her boyfriend were doing when I was thirsty one night and came down the stairs all alone. ...Okay, the hallway was dark and scary and the floor creaked even more that night, but _I was very thirsty..._ Anyway, I wasn't talking about Rose, or about going kissy-kissy – only _grown-ups_ that love each other _very, very much_ do that, my mama said! - but about Alex that kept trying to kiss me. On the lips. Not even my _mama_ gives me kisses on the lips. It's kinda icky. A bit.

But after I'd said to her that I didn't like that much, Alex said sorry and she stopped kissing me on the lips. Instead, she started to kiss me on the cheek, but that I didn't mind much. My mama also does that.

And Alex is also smart, and very pretty, and strong, and she likes adventures just as much as I do! She's great to play space-adventurers from the future with. Now if I could just get her to leave the guns away...

Anyway, when we were playing and I suddenly had to go potty... I had to think about the hallway, so dark and _quiet and empty_ _and where_ _the floorboards creak_ _before you even touch-_

...but it was so urgent! And I wanted to tell Rose but she was too busy talking to Chris, and suddenly I felt someone yank on my hand and I looked to see Alex standing next to me.

“What's the matter, sweetie?”, she asked, and I could see her smile. I only knew Alex for a little bit, maybe not even an entire _hour_ yet, but when she smiled at me, I felt dizzy a little – the _nice_ kind of dizzy, like when you're on a merry-go-round and it tingles in your belly. It was very hard for me to feel afraid when she smiled at me like that.

“...I kinda need to go...”, I found myself saying, and she smiled _even more –_ it was like Chris said once, 'words couldn't describe it'. ...I don't know why he said that anymore, and I really don't know what kind of thing words couldn't describe – I don't think that's possible, really, something that has no words! ...Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, Alex' smile and how it made that dizzy feeling in my belly crawl all the way up to my heart and my head.

“...Then let's just go!”

“B-but I don't... I mean, I can't go alone, I didn't ever...”, I said. At home, mama always takes me to the toilet – the big toilet, I mean, not the night-time potty that's in the upstairs bathroom, because the big toilet has _scary high steps_ and _it's deep and if I fall in I'll drown –_ and if mama isn't there, then Rose or Chris goes along to lift me up and put me on the weird toilet seat, and to wipe my bottom after a big potty break. I tried doing it myself once, but my mum had to wash my hands _three times_ before they smelled like soap and not all _icky and dirty_. ...A-and at school, we have mini-toilets that don't have the scary steps and the weird toilet seat. And we don't go alone. But clearly Alex had other plans.

“I can, and I do – in our class, we're allowed to go by ourselves. It's no big deal! ...C'mon, let's go together then!”, she said, pulling me along. I didn't have time to say 'no' – and I didn't really _want_ to say no, because _Alex_ and _I had liked the pretending to be her super-amazing space-adventurer boyfriend,_ so I went along.

But then we were in the hallway and it was _sooooo dark_ and I must've made a sound, because she gripped my hand _very tightly_ and looked at me.

“...You're afraid, aren't you, sweetie?” I nodded – no use lying, my mama always said, and whenever I tried to lie to her I got in trouble, and I definitely didn't want to get in trouble with Alex – and she chuckled. “I used to be afraid too. But not anymore, because you know what? All you need is something nice to look forward to! ...If you manage it all – the hallway, the toilet, everything – then you get to give _me_ a kiss for a change.” ...Now, at first, I didn't like the thought of all the kisses, but since we _were_ boyfriend and girlfriend space-adventurers now, it was like it was _okay_ all of a sudden. And I nodded, after which she gave my hand another little squeeze and then started walking into the hallway. And now I saw what an amazing – what a _super-amazing –_ space-adventurer girlfriend she was, because the floorboards creaked but she didn't stop, and it was all dark and eerie and long and _horrible and scary_ but Alex just walked on. And the further she walked, and the further I walked, and the more I saw that the hallway wasn't as scary as I'd always thought it was. It was the same hallway as always – there was the door to the kitchen, and the cookies, and those dark shapes over there, by the wall, those were just the coats on the coat rack... and the creaking of the floorboards was just the sound they always made... Before I really knew it, we were at the bathroom, and Alex stood on her tippy-toes to reach the light switch.

When the light from the bathroom fell into the hallway, I had to blink a few times – the light was _bright_ and all! - and then I saw the next obstacle on my way: those high steps that I didn't dare take.

“...Don't think about the steps, think about where you're going to give me a kiss, Matty – my cheek, my hand... my nose? My lips?”

“I'm not going to give you a kiss _on your lips_ , Alex, that's _icky_ -”, I protested, but she smiled that dizzy-making smile again and I suddenly wasn't too sure of that anymore. It hadn't been that icky, come to think of it... and my mama had said 'only grown-ups go kissy-kissy' but a kiss on Alex' lips wouldn't be 'kissy-kissy', because... well, _because_ it _wasn't_. So I just shut up, contemplated the thought of getting to surprise Alex just like she'd surprised me before, smiled, and took a step up to the steps. “...Promise you keep your eyes closed?”, I said, and Alex nodded.

“If you want that. I could even go stand outside-”, she said, but I shook my head. She thought I meant I didn't want her to see me use the toilet, what was _that_ about? I snickered.

“ _Nooo_ , Alex, silly, I meant for the kiss!”

“Oh!”, she said, followed by another of that dizzy-making smiles again, this one even broader, and then she added: “ _Of course, sweetie..._ ” and I felt a little blushy too. She made everything sound like we were being bad – which we maybe were, if Rose's reactions to Alex before were anything to go by - and part of me wanted to tell her so but another, much bigger, part of me just _let it happen with a smile_.

“...Okay!” I looked at the steps again and huffed a little. I had never felt good using those, it always felt like I was going to fall into the toilet and _drown_ or something. Davey told me all the time that no one can drown in a toilet, but had _he_ ever fallen into a toilet? ...Suddenly, just the thought of David, struggling to get out of a _giant_ toilet bowl, made me laugh and I took one step, then another, and then I stood right at the top, looking at the toilet. “I did it!”, I said, and Alex nodded even if her words showed it wasn't all over and done with just yet.

“Now comes the important part. Should I go into the hallway?”

“No, it's okay. My mama and Rose and miss Clara stay when they help me use the big toilet, you can stay too.”, I said, and she snickered.

“But they're _grown-ups_ , silly, I'm not.”

“They never said only grown-ups can help me go to the toilet – besides, you have to stay for the kiss, remember?”, I said, and she nodded.

“How could I forget promising you a kiss, Matty, sweetie?” I think Alex _liked_ making me all dizzy and silly, because she kept smiling that smile and looking at me like... like her new favourite toy. Which I was okay with. I resolved to get my mama to agree to Alex coming over more just to play. I liked her – and not just because of the 'dizzy and silly feeling' thing, but she was fun, and she knew how to look at Davey and Chris to get them to stop being stupid...

I was lucky, though, because from the high steps on, it was easier to finally go on and use the toilet, even with the silly toilet seat. Alex laughed when I flushed while I still sat on the toilet, but she stopped laughing when I got my undies and my pants fixed up again and quickly climbed down the steps again.

“D'you want your kiss now?”, she asked, and I smiled, shaking my head.

“First I have to wash my hands, I'm not touching your face with icky hands.”, I said, and she winked at me before she answered.

“Ooh, yes, clean fresh hands, of course!” She pushed the steps closer to the sink a little, but I shook my head again.

“No, no, I can reach, from the side.” It wasn't a big lie – normally, my mama or Rose or miss Clara helped me wash my hands, but I'd grown an entire inch today because of the fish fingers and custard I had for lunch and I was sure I could reach the soap if I stood on my tippy-toes. Besides, Alex didn't need to help me, I was going to show her that. Turning the faucet was easy enough, but the soap was a bit far away and I nearly fell against the sink – Alex giggled softly when it slipped away from my hands and into the sink, too, but she didn't say anything, and when my hands were dry and smelling like my mama's favourite soap, I looked at her and she smiled that dizzy-making smile again.

“...Okay, you did great, and you _deserve_ your reward.”, she said softly – and then she closed her eyes and I felt a little blushy again. She really seemed to _want_ me to kiss her on the lips – and I kind of wanted to do that, too, because I... dunno why. I just _did_. So I put one hand on her cheek – just to make sure that I didn't _miss_ – and kissed her. It felt kind of... soft and tingly. She had soft lips, like maybe all girls do – I mean, my mama's kisses on my cheek or my forehead never feel _not_ soft, and neither did Rose's kisses on my cheek or forehead when she put me to bed or when she wanted to make me feel better after crying... But this wasn't those kisses: this was _Alex_ , who was sweet and pretty and not grown-up and all, and it was... kind of _nice_...

“Matty?”

Until Rose called from the living room and I realized that Alex had gotten me to do something I probably wasn't allowed. Again. I blushed, it felt like someone lit my cheeks on fire, really not pleasant.

“Waiiiiit a secoooooond!”, I called back quickly, looking at Alex to see her grin at me. She _enjoyed_ seeing me all blushy, I thought to myself quietly. Not that I minded.

“Stand outside, then I can use the toilet, too...”, she said, and I nodded, hurrying outside just in time to see Rose come towards me through the hallway. It no longer looked scary and, looking back at the half-closed door of the bathroom, I found myself thinking that the toilet, with the steps and the silly toilet seat, didn't really frighten me anymore, either. Her idea had worked! I wasn't afraid anymore!

I tell you, Alex is _amazing_ , and I wanna play with her every _day_ from now on!

 


End file.
